Legal

Diddy's defense made a big deal in court about a scrapbook one of his former assistants -- who testified Diddy raped her -- says she made for his birthday ... and now we're seeing it for the first time.

The ex-assistant, who took the stand under the pseudonym "Mia," testified about making a scrapbook for Diddy's 45th trip around the sun ... Diddy's defense attorney Brian Steel showed it to jurors back in May, and it's now been entered into the public record as a defense exhibit.

The scrapbook features a glowing letter to Diddy ... with Mia writing at the end, "I love you forever and eva and eva."

3:16 PM PT -- A judge just granted the temporary restraining order against Devin Haney and now both sides are now due in court for a hearing on the matter on July 22. Additionally, the judge ordered Haney to have no visitation with his daughter, Khrome, "until further order of the court."

The mother of Devin Haney's months-old daughter is seeking a domestic violence restraining order against the star boxer ... alleging he once pushed her to the ground while she was pregnant.

Court documents TMZ Sports has obtained show Leena Sayed filed for the DVRO last week ... over allegations Haney abused her on multiple occasions throughout the past year and a half.

She wrote in the restraining order request that it all started in February 2024 -- roughly a year after she and Haney first met. She claimed during a dispute in their Las Vegas home, he punched her in the stomach and then kicked her out of the house.

Here's the verdict sheet jurors in Sean "Diddy" Combs' federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial were given as they deliberated his fate ... and you can see the charges laid out against him.

The first count is racketeering conspiracy ... and Judge Arun Subramanian told jurors that in order to convict Diddy here, they must find he agreed with at least one other member of the alleged Combs Enterprise to commit two predicate acts within 10 years of each other.

There are 8 qualifying crimes for the RICO charge ... kidnapping, arson, bribery, witness tampering, forced labor, sex trafficking, transportation for purposes of prostitution, and drug distribution.

There's already a dramatic development as the jury began deliberating in Diddy's federal criminal trial in NYC ... a note was sent by the jury to the judge in the courtroom within about an hour of when deliberations began.

Judge Arun Subramanian announced at about 1:15 PM ET ... "We have received a note from the jury." He said the note from the jury foreperson reads, "We have a juror, Juror 25, who we believe cannot follow your honor's instructions," and the foreperson wanted to meet with the judge about it.

Diddy and his lawyers were huddled in the courtroom at this announcement.

Chris Brown's putting one part of his legal battle over an alleged nightclub fight behind him -- as he seems to have reached a settlement with the guy who sued him over it.

Abe Diaw sued Chris back in 2023, claiming the singer struck him with a tequila bottle during an appearance at TAPE nightclub in London -- but on Friday, Abe filed docs asking an L.A. County judge to dismiss the suit.

According to the docs, Diaw wants it dismissed with prejudice ... meaning he can't refile it, and that typically means there was a settlement between the parties. We don't know if there was any money exchanged ... we've reached out to attorneys for Chris and Abe.

Jurors in the federal criminal trial of Sean "Diddy" Combs in NYC are now deliberating after receiving instructions from Judge Arun Subramanian for more than an hour Monday morning.

After the jury of eight men and four women was seated, Subramanian went through each of the charges as the gallery looked on ... telling jurors "Actions may speak louder than words."

The judge told jurors they should decide for themselves how credible they found each witness ... "The evidence is the testimony," he said while reminding the jurors to take note of the acts of everyone they considered to be participants in the events presented.

Andrew Tate won't be charged in regard to the police report Bri Stern filed against him, alleging abusive behavior during a sexual encounter in March, TMZ can confirm.

The Los Angeles District Attorney tells us ... the case was declined due to insufficient evidence -- and Joseph McBride -- the defense attorney representing Tate -- says it's music to his ears.

We're told by McBride he and Tate cooperated fully with the investigation after Bri filed a police report alleging Tate continually choked her during sex despite telling him to stop.

Gavin Newsom says Fox News has gone off the deep end ... purely peddling the Trump administration's propaganda these days -- and, he's calling for an apology in regards to the defamation lawsuit he filed.

The Governor of California joined Brian Tyler Cohen on his podcast Friday ... and, he told Brian he doesn't like to use the courts in situations like this -- but, he felt it was finally time to fight the "propaganda network."

Governor Newsom says he's willing to let the network off the hook if he receives an on-air apology for the story they ran claiming he lied about calling President Trump ... but, if not, he's ready to let the lawyers duke it out in court.

There's absolutely no denying Diddy's insatiable appetite for freak-offs, which has been on full display throughout his federal racketeering and sex trafficking trial.

After 7 weeks of witness testimony -- much of it centered around Diddy's freak-off obsession -- the case will be handed to the 12-person jury on Monday, and they will start deliberating on whether to acquit or convict Diddy on five felony charges.

Here's the thing ... If Diddy walks on all of the charges and strolls out of court a free man, one question immediately comes to mind -- will the music mogul go right back to freaking-off with girlfriends, male escorts and, of course, baby oil?

It's the final countdown ... closing arguments in the Diddy criminal trial are now in the books after an explosive day in court ... with the defense taking aim at Cassie and Jane, and prosecutors getting the last word.

Diddy's defense attorney Marc Agnifilo put on a big show handling the defense's closing argument all by himself ... getting dramatic and theatrical as he paced before the jury and explained why he feels the charges against his client are bogus.

With Diddy's family watching from the gallery, Agnifilo told jurors Diddy was a victim of the government's bedroom policing ... and he warned us all, we could be the next targets if the feds don't like the way we have sex ... as he says was the case with Diddy.

Federal prosecutors went to their closer Friday as they got the last word in the Diddy criminal trial ... and their star lawyer tried to pick apart an animated closing argument from Diddy's defense.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maurene Comey, who is known for her closing arguments, handled the government's rebuttal to Marc Agnifilo's impassioned defense of Diddy.

Comey tried to poke holes in Agnifilo's arguments ... a reversal of roles in this trial, as Diddy's army of lawyers spent the past 7 weeks poking holes in the prosecution's 34 witnesses.

The company that controls Anna Nicole Smith's intellectual property rights is going after the fashion brand Von Dutch ... claiming they've been using her image to sell their apparel without permission.

The lawsuit states Von Dutch never obtained permission from the company -- or permission from Anna prior to her death in 2007 -- to use her to sell products featuring her name, image, or likeness.

If you remember Anna working with the company back in the day, she did come out with a line in partnership with them ... but, the company says she never granted anyone at Von Dutch the right to use her image.

Diddy's ice-grilling of a contestant on the artist competition series "The Four" is more remembered than the show itself ... and Elijah Connor says it's all because he REFUSED to party up with Puff Daddy!!!

Elijah was infamously on the other end of Diddy's death stare in 2018 when the Bad Boy mogul blocked him from advancing in the competition ... after he labeled Elijah's audition as cocky and unpolished.

Elijah was in Atlanta this week and announced his plans to expose his recollection of events leading up to the now-infamous GIF through a tell-all book ... a page-turner he thinks could very well cost him his life!!!

Former MTV star Connor Smith -- who appeared on "Are You the One?" in 2015 -- has been released from the clink after serving time for trying to get together with an underage girl.

Illinois state sources tell TMZ ... Smith is out on parole as of Friday after serving less than 8 months at Taylorville Correctional Center. He's now a registered sex offender ... so he's got 72 hours to check in with police to formally update his whereabouts.

Remember ... the one-time reality star was picked up by authorities in Florida in March 2024 -- ending a year-long manhunt initiated by the state of Illinois. Authorities accused him of sending sexually explicit messages to someone he thought was a 15-year-old girl ... but who was actually an adult undercover cop.

It's not always sunny when you're Rob McElhenney ... which is exactly why the veteran actor is changing his name legally.

The star filed documents in L.A. to formally update his moniker ... cutting down on the number of syllables in his name by going by "Rob Mac."

Like we said, this isn't just a stage name change ... we're talking full-on new name in the eyes of the law -- a pretty substantial move for a dude of Rob's stature. He's also Robert McElhenney III BTW ... and, now he's gonna be the first "Rob Mac."

Diddy's defense says the whole criminal case boils down to the almighty dollar, and co-lead attorney Marc Agnifilo is telling jurors that's the only reason they're even in court ... money, money, money.

Agnifilo is taking the reins on the defense's closing argument Friday, and took jurors back to what the defense says is the beginning of the case against Diddy -- Cassie's 2023 civil lawsuit.

As Agnifilo put it, Cassie "is sitting somewhere in the world with $30 million" ... referencing the $20 mil settlement in her Diddy suit and the $10 mil deal she cut with the owner of the InterContinental Hotel in L.A., the scene of the infamous beating video.